SNAPSHOT
Freeform announces Josh Thomas’ return to television with Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, premiering THURSDAY, JAN. 16. Critically acclaimed for his series Please Like Me, Thomas once again takes on a multifaceted role as creator, writer, executive producer and star of the 30-minute comedy, which introduces Nicholas (Josh Thomas), a neurotic twenty-something-year-old visiting his dad and teenage half-sisters, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. When Nicholas’ trip is extended due to his father’s untimely death, the siblings are left to cope with not only a devastating loss, but also the realization that Nicholas is the one who will have to rise to the occasion, move in, and hold it all together.Navigating autism, budding sexuality, consent, parenthood, adolescence, family and grief, the heartfelt comedy will follow this imperfect family as they discover the importance of finding happiness in the middle of really difficult moments, one awkward conversation at a time.
Neurodiverse actress and activist Kayla Cromer stars as Matilda, a high school senior who is driven to succeed and on the autism spectrum. She is Nicholas’ bright and outgoing half-sister who is curious and contemplative; if she doesn’t initially understand something, she’ll put in the work to figure it out. 17-year-old stand-up comedienne Maeve Press stars as Genevieve, Nicholas’ other half-sister who has a unique comedic sensibility; she is clever, dramatic and definitely a little weird. At school she’s at odds with her authentic self, hanging around a group of girls who sharply contrast her kind-hearted family and struggling to find her place in the world. Newcomer Adam Faison rounds out the cast of series regulars as Alex, Nicholas’ romantic interest introduced in the first episode.
Stephanie Swedlove and Kevin Whyte also serve as executive producers, with David Martin, Jon Thoday, and Richard Allen-Turner executive producing for Avalon Television. (synopsis via SpoilerTV (c) Freeform)
There are a great many times in life where you have to ask yourself whether everything will, in fact, be okay.
I am trapped in the afterwash of my Mum’s too-soon death from cancer and frankly at this point the idea that things will be okay feel fanciful at best, and yet I do deep down, if they feel like reassuringly hollow words right now, I know that those words of encouragement will find themselves a concrete, tangible reality at some point in the future.
I’m guessing it’s that truth that informs John Thomas’s new show, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, which follows his award-winning Please Like Me which found success not only in Australia but over in the States too which would explain the new show popping up on Freeform/Hulu.
The trailer suggests a show that is a mix of comedy and dramedy, hilarity and poignancy so very much the Thomas trademark which augurs well for everything in fact being okay.
Even if, for now at least, it’s just on TV.
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay premieres on Freeform/Hulu on 16 January 2020.